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Trivia: Musical Terms

Subject : trivia
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A short piano piece - often improvisational and intimate in character.






2. One or more vocalists performing without an accompaniment.






3. A symbol in sheet music a direction to play energetically.






4. Singing in unison - texts in a free rhythm. Similar to the rhythm of speech.






5. The piece of cane in wind instruments. The players cause vibrations by blowing through it in order to produce sound.






6. A string of chords played in succession.






7. A set of five musicians who perform a composition written for five parts.






8. A group of 4 instruments - two violins - a viola - and cello.






9. A period in history during the 18th and early 19th centuries where the focus shifted from the neoclassical style to an emotional - expressive - and imaginative style.






10. A style of singing which is characterized by the easy and flowing tone of the composition.






11. An extended solo - often accompanying the vocal part of an aria.






12. Combination of two or more keys being played at the same time.






13. One of the two modes of the tonal system. Music written in major keys have a positive affirming character.






14. A system of notation for stringed instruments. The notes are indicated by the finger positions.






15. A dirge - hymn - or musical service for the repose of the dead.






16. Rapid alternation between notes that are a half tone or whole tone apart.






17. Music of a particular form consisting of four movements. Each of the movements differ in tempo - rhythm - and melody; but are held together by subject and style.






18. The retuning of a stringed instrument in order to play notes below the ordinary range of the instrument or to produce an usual tone color.






19. Piece of instrumental music played between scenes in a play or opera.






20. String instruments that are picked instead of bowed.






21. A canon where the melody is sung in two or more voices. After the first voice begins - the next voice starts singing after a couple of measures are played in the preceding voice. All parts repeat continuously.






22. The principal note of a triad.






23. The playing or singing the upper half of the vocal range. Also the highest voice in choral singing.






24. Combining a number of individual but harmonizing melodies. Also known as counterpoint.






25. In sheet music - a symbol at the beginning of the staff defining the pitch of the notes found in that particular staff.






26. Two or more voices or instruments playing the same note simultaneously.






27. The frequency of a note determining how high or low it sounds.






28. The manner in which tones are produced with regard to pitch.






29. Music composed such that each note is used the same number of times.






30. One of two or more parts in polyphonic music. Voice refers to instrumental parts as well as the singing voice.






31. A set of six musicians who perform a composition written for six parts.






32. One of the two modes of the tonal system. The minor mode can be identified by the dark - melancholic mood.






33. A combination of two or more staves on which all the notes are vertically aligned and performed simultaneously in differing registers and instruments.






34. Dull - monotonous tone such as a humming or buzzing sound. Also a bass note held under a melody.






35. Word to indicate the movement or entire composition is to be played very slow and serious.






36. Closing section of a movement.






37. A composition whose style is simple and idyllic; suggestive of rural scenes.






38. The major and minor keys that share the same notes in that key.For example: A minor shares the same note as C major.






39. A rhythmic succession of musical tones - a melody for instruments and voices.






40. Word to indicate that the movement or entire composition is to be played grandly.






41. A glissando or portamento. Also refers to the moving part of a trombone.






42. A form of Italian opera beginning at the end of the 19th century. The setting is contemporary to the composer's own time - and the characters are modeled after every day life.






43. Dull - monotonous tone such as a humming or buzzing sound. Also a bass note held under a melody.






44. A musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.






45. Lowest female singing voice.






46. A person with notable technical skill in the performance of music.






47. Elaborate polyphonic composition of the Boroque and Renaissance periods.






48. Suite of Baroque dances.






49. A direction to play expressively.






50. Combination of two or more keys being played at the same time.







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